Bringing to the top for tripplanner and anyone else who is interested in this area! This is the second half of our 2019 trip (oh, the pre-COVID days!). I didn't finish our Rome explorations, but everything else is here!

Thanks so much for your amazing and comprehensive trip report!

HappyTrvlr,
I’m happy you enjoyed this! It was really a perfect trip!

Progol, Thank you for this fabulous trip report. I topped it as a reference/guide for our first time, twice delayed, visit to Naples & Amalfi Coast. We have firm plans for late September 2023.🤞
it is beautifully written & the photos are amazing.
Well done!

HI Progol I must have read your trip report some time ago, because I found some of your comments in my notes. The report nevertheless brought back many memories for us. Orvieto - spent three days there (15 yrs ago) and saw the Duomo, including the chapel behind the altar, the Underground Caves (lots of beautiful but sick cats) did the "Ring around the Rock" - listening for the "whoosh" of the fast trains as they sped by in the plain below. The Ring around the Rock walk was lovely with wild cyclamen and lots of people later in the evening walking their dogs (although the dog poo was something you had to avoid!). Dangerous in some areas so not a walk I would take later in the day, as you could miss your footing and fall down a cliff. Saw St Patrick's Cave and the Pozo; visited the weekend market. It was lovely walking around the town early morning or evening when the tourists had departed. On to Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Cost - 40+ years ago. We had a car (12 miles on the odometer - just off the production line in London) and drove for three months through France, Spain, Italy etc and along the Amalfi Coast - would not even think of doing that now. We had to purchase petrol coupons in Lira! Headed to Salerno (at that time a very industrial town) as we had to be there on a particular date and time to have the car serviced. Paestum was next on the agenda - no Tourist or ticket office then - just the ruins in overgrown fields. Your wonderful current photographs remind me very much of the Greek temples in Sicily - Agregento and Sagresta. From there we head inland to Benevento and across to the east coast heading to San Marino,Ravenna and then Venice before entering Austria. Thaks for your reports. I have also followed along your Portugal journey.

Interestingly, we are toying with just going to Herculaneum, Paestrum and Villa Oplontis and passing on Pompeii.

Progol, Thank you for this wonderful trip report, as per usual. SO helpful!

Thank you for this report! I'm hopeful that more of your Rome adventure will show up in the next few days. We leave in a few days for Rome, and then on to Puglia. We've never been south of Rome, and have planned to do so for many years. Having lost a good three years of travel, it's time to get moving again! We were fortunate to have had trips to New Zealand, Austria/Dolomites/Paris, Japan, and Thailand just as the world shut down. I couldn't bring myself to write trip reports, but perhaps I should try to write a quick summary for people who are planning now. Which reminds me to finish up my notes on last fall's trip to Alsace. You have inspired me.

Wow, I haven’t looked at this for months! I’m thrilled you’ve found this and I’m so sorry I never got around to finishing up the Rome portion. Maybe someday, but not now - we’re off to Greece next week!

Rasputin, if you happen to come back here, it’s nice to know you found the trip helpful and I love your memories!

virginiafish - it sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned and I’m still so pleased you find my reports helpful. I remember using yours as well, so it goes both ways!

PJTravels, my apologies that this won’t be finished before you leave for Rome. I do have 2 other trip reports - one which is just Rome (2017) and our 2021 trip which covers a good bit south of Rome, though not Rome itself.

progol, have a wonderful trip to Greece, so much to explore!

Thank you! Pelopponese Peninsula and central Greece - can’t wait!

Sounds like a wonderful trip, Progol! We loved our short stay in the Peloponnese Peninsula (5 nights in Nafplio). Wish we had more time there.

Thank you! We'll be in Nafplio (Nafplion?) for 6 nights as it turns out we're there over Easter AND Labor Day (unless it was moved to May 7 because of Holy Week) so I figured we needed enough time to see the surrounding area. And your trip report has been a gold mine of information for the town!

Naples, Atrani
 

Hello again. I see you're heading off to Japan this year. I'm afraid I am stuck on Italy.

I read all your trip reports last year on Lecce and the Puglian hill towns and really appreciate your efforts. This year I'm heading back to Italy and will re-read your posts on Umbria. I sought you out to ask if you walked between Atrani and Amalfi because the road seems a little daunting. Where is the town centre exactly? If there is a bus I'd take it. I'm spending most of the day in Amalfi (staying in Salerno) and I might take a bus to Praiano but I saw on google maps that it only takes 12 minutes or so to walk to Atrani. I could not see exactly where to go on Google street view.

Also, do you have a restaurant recommendation for Spello? We are staying in Bevagna and plan to visit Spello and Montefalco in the afternoons and evening for dinner.

Have a great trip if I don't hear back from you.

You know, I agree on the pizza in Naples. I was actually disappointed. We went to Sorbillo and also Pizzeria Da Attillo (with star tipped, ricotta filled pizza recommended by Elizabeth Minchilli)) and didn't think much of either. The best tasting pizza was a deep fried one at Spaccanapoli in some upstairs joint. If I go back I might see what's happening at da Michele just for the helluva it. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be but I'd just as easily go for a pasta meal.

Hi, Redlandseen! I'm excited for you to be going back to Italy -- truly, it is our favorite country overall for traveling and we definitely will get back -- sooner than later. We've enjoyed all our trips there and I'm sure you will, too.

Funny about the pizza in Naples -- our favorite pizza of that trip was in Sorrento, not Naples. But you're not planning to go to Sorrento, are you?

I didn't note any particular restaurants in Spello in my notes (and my note taking has definitely fallen down a lot over the last few years), but we just tended to walk into a place that looked good and were happy with our choices.

Now, the walk from Atrani to Amalfi is very easy. You can walk all the way along the highway skirting the coast -- really, not a problem, and from our B&B, La Scogliera, it took no more than 10-15 minutes. But there is also a tunnel between the 2 towns, though it's hard to describe exactly how to find the entrance from one to the next. There are several articles, including videos, which detail where they are, though more commonly from Amalfi to Atrani. But it's really not hard to find once you know where it is, and anyone in the area could direct you.

The center of Atrani (a tiny center) is just through the archways from the small pebble beach. I mention it in your other post about restaurants.